Enol hydrolysis

An acetoacetic ester synthesis goes through alkylation of the enolate, hydrolysis, and decarboxylation.To design a synthesis, look at the product and see what groups are added to acetone. Use those groups to alkylate acetoacetic ester, then hydrolyze and decarboxylate. 

Thus, it comes as no surprise (Scheme 10.66) that when the silane resulting from the reaction between chlorotrimethylsilane and the Grignard reagent prepared from l-methoxy-4-chloromethylbenzene and magnesium is reduced under Birch conditions (Li/NHs (i), CH3CH2OH) and worked up with hydrogen chloride (HCl) in methanol (CH3OH), 4-methylenecyclohexanone results. That is, apparently, protodesilylation and enol hydrolysis co-occur. 

Scheme 10.66. A potential pathway for protodesilylation and enol hydrolysis of the Birch reduction product of l-methoxy-4-(trimethylsilyl)methylbenzene to generate 4-methylene-cyclohexanone (see Rabideau, P. W. Marcinow, Z. Organic Reactions, Paquette, L. A., ed. Vol. 42, Wiley, Hoboken, NJ, 1992).

An enol is usually characterised by treatment with ketonic reagents or with phenylhydrazme (compare Section IV,114 and Table IV,114A), or by hydrolysis with acid, followed by the identification of the ketone. 

Only the more stable enolate (101 A) is formed and this reacts well with allyl bromide. This activating group (CHO) can be removed by basecatalysed hydrolysis. Mechanism ... 

The oxidation of the cyclic enol ether 93 in MeOH affords the methyl ester 95 by hydrolysis of the ketene acetal 94 formed initially by regioselective attack of the methoxy group at the anomeric carbon, rather than the a-alkoxy ketone[35]. Similarly, the double bond of the furan part in khellin (96) is converted ino the ester 98 via the ketene acetal 97[l23],... 

Addition of a hydroxy group to alkynes to form enol ethers is possible with Pd(II). Enol ether formation and its hydrolysis mean the hydration of alkynes to ketones. The 5-hydroxyalkyne 249 was converted into the cyclic enol ether 250[124], Stereoselective enol ether formation was applied to the synthesis of prostacyclin[131]. Treatment of the 4-alkynol 251 with a stoichiometric amount of PdCl2, followed by hydrogenolysis with formic acid, gives the cyclic enol ether 253. Alkoxypalladation to give 252 is trans addition, because the Z E ratio of the alkene 253 was 33 1. 

One effective method for synthesis of tryptophan derivatives involves alkylation of formamido- or acetamido- malonate diesters by gramine[l,2]. Conversion to tryptophans is completed by hydrolysis and decarboxylation. These reactions were discussed in Chapter 12. An enolate of an a-nitro ester is an alternative nucleophile. The products can be converted to tryptophans by rcduction[3,4],... 

Catalytic hydrogenation of the 14—15 double bond from the face opposite to the C18 substituent yields (196). Compound (196) contains the natural steroid stereochemistry around the D-ring. A metal-ammonia reduction of (196) forms the most stable product (197) thermodynamically. When R is equal to methyl, this process comprises an efficient total synthesis of estradiol methyl ester. Birch reduction of the A-ring of (197) followed by acid hydrolysis of the resultant enol ether allows access into the 19-norsteroids (198) (204). 

Hydrolysis of Enol Esters. Enzyme-mediated enantioface-differentiating hydrolysis of enol esters is an original method for generating optically active a-substituted ketones (84—86). If the protonation of a double bond occurs from one side with the simultaneous elimination of the acyl group (Fig. 3), then the optically active ketone should be produced. Indeed, the incubation of l-acetoxy-2-methylcyclohexene [1196-73-2] (68) with Pichia... 

Figure 4.10 is plot of the Bronsted relationship for hydrolysis of an enol ether. The plot shows that the effectiveness of the various carboxylic acids as catalysts is related to their dissociation constants. In this particular case, the constant a is 0.79 ... 

Enols of simple ketones can be generated in high concentration as metastable species by special techniques. Vinyl alcohol, the enol of acetaldehyde, can be generated by very careful hydrolysis of any of several ortho ester derivatives in which the group RC02 is acetate acid or a chlorinated acetate acid. ... 

Dihydrothebainone-A-5 6-methyl enolate, CjaHjjOjN, m.p. 164-165-5°, [a] ° — 115-7° (EtOH). Cold N/HCl converts it into dihydrothebainone hydrochloride. The isomeric dihydrothebainone-J-6 7-methyl enolate is formed on catalytic hydrogenation of phenolic dihydrothebaine. It has m.p. 127-8°, [a] ° — 8° (EtOH) and yields dihydrothebainone on acid hydrolysis. ... 

A carbonyl group cannot be protected as its ethylene ketal during the Birch reduction of an aromatic phenolic ether if one desires to regenerate the ketone and to retain the 1,4-dihydroaromatic system, since an enol ether is hydrolyzed by acid more rapidly than is an ethylene ketal. 1,4-Dihydro-estrone 3-methyl ether is usually prepared by the Birch reduction of estradiol 3-methyl ether followed by Oppenauer oxidation to reform the C-17 carbonyl function. However, the C-17 carbonyl group may be protected as its diethyl ketal and, following a Birch reduction of the A-ring, this ketal function may be hydrolyzed in preference to the 3-enol ether, provided carefully controlled conditions are employed. Conditions for such a selective hydrolysis are illustrated in Procedure 4. 

The application of the Birch reduction to ethers of estradiol by A. J. Birch opened up the area of 19-norsteroids to intensive research. The major Birch reduction product is an enol ether which affords either a 3-keto-A -or a 3-keto-A -19-norsteroid depending upon the hydrolysis conditions. Various 19-norsteroids have been found to have useful clinical activity compounds (30), (31), and (32) are oral contraceptive agents and compound (33) has been used as an oral anabolic agent. Several of these compounds were prepared on an industrial scale for a number of years by the Birch reduction of estradiol derivatives. 

The crude ketal from the Birch reduction is dissolved in a mixture of 700 ml ethyl acetate, 1260 ml absolute ethanol and 31.5 ml water. To this solution is added 198 ml of 0.01 Mp-toluenesulfonic acid in absolute ethanol. (Methanol cannot be substituted for the ethanol nor can denatured ethanol containing methanol be used. In the presence of methanol, the diethyl ketal forms the mixed methyl ethyl ketal at C-17 and this mixed ketal hydrolyzes at a much slower rate than does the diethyl ketal.) The mixture is stirred at room temperature under nitrogen for 10 min and 56 ml of 10% potassium bicarbonate solution is added to neutralize the toluenesulfonic acid. The organic solvents are removed in a rotary vacuum evaporator and water is added as the organic solvents distill. When all of the organic solvents have been distilled, the granular precipitate of 1,4-dihydroestrone 3- methyl ether is collected on a filter and washed well with cold water. The solid is sucked dry and is dissolved in 800 ml of methyl ethyl ketone. To this solution is added 1600 ml of 1 1 methanol-water mixture and the resulting mixture is cooled in an ice bath for 1 hr. The solid is collected, rinsed with cold methanol-water (1 1), air-dried, and finally dried in a vacuum oven at 60° yield, 71.5 g (81 % based on estrone methyl ether actually carried into the Birch reduction as the ketal) mp 139-141°, reported mp 141-141.5°. The material has an enol ether assay of 99%, a residual aromatics content of 0.6% and a 19-norandrost-5(10)-ene-3,17-dione content of 0.5% (from hydrolysis of the 3-enol ether). It contains less than 0.1 % of 17-ol and only a trace of ketal formed by addition of ethanol to the 3-enol ether. 

---